Be the Change

Even as we post the latest articles, as we pledge our solidarity, as we register our likes and loves and anger on social media, we know it isn’t enough. I don’t know about you, but I am at a loss for what a meaningful action item looks like. This is the absolute worst nightmare of a caretaker personality.

It’s an honest question and I spent the day yesterday asking it of myself. What can I do ? How can I help ? Last night I dug through pages of quotes, because I always assume someone has already said what I need to hear and said it better. They put the answer in a body of writing, no longer than a paragraph, to keep our attention.

There are dozens, hundreds, thousands of relevant musings on justice and injustice. Hate and fear. Hope and peace. So many voices carrying so much wisdom.

“Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter” – Martin Luther King Jr

“Your first job is to work on yourself. The greatest thing you can do for another human being is to get your own house in order and find your true spiritual heart” – Ram Dass

So many wise words. The one that seared itself into my brain and took hold was just one sentence. I kept coming back to it, thinking: Yes. This.

“Be the change you wish to see in the world”  -Gandhi

Maybe it isn’t the few doing many things, but rather the many doing a few things …

We shouldn’t be looking for ways to show support. We aren’t outside of this. This is all of us. We are in it. We stand together, side by side. What hurts one, hurts us all.

No more silence.
No more waiting for others.

We must all find our voices.
We must get our own houses in order.
We must become the change.

Something else that resonated with me with me was something I saw on social media. Someone saying that :

“Resistance has more than one lane. Maybe your lane is organizing or protesting. Maybe your lane is art activism or counseling. Maybe your lane is surviving the day -don’t feel guilty not occupying every lane. We need them all ”  @lizzobeeating/IG

Amen. We need them all. Every single expression of resistance, blatant or subtle. We need to do what we do best. We need to find our lane and hit the throttle.

It was a good day for me: finding my courage and going on faith. Maybe one of my lanes is to keep trying to balance the hateful things we hear, with some of the beautiful things I see. It isn’t all I can do. But it’s my ‘something’ just for today. Please see my day here

Do you know your path to resistance ?

Thanks for reading. So many others have said it so much better but it feels important to add my voice to the conversation.

Be the Change.